Scenes From An NFL Game In 2020
As the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens squared off on Monday Night Football, millions of people around the world tuned in – but not inside Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium.
Although some NFL teams are allowing a limited number of fans to attend games, many, such as the Ravens, are not. FOX Sports was fortunate enough to be invited to Monday night's clash, however, and we wanted to give you a glimpse.
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Go behind the scenes at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore ahead of the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Baltimore Ravens Monday Night Football matchup. See what it looks like inside and outside the stadium as the prime-time matchup gets going with no fans in the stands.
For many fans, a good day of football starts at a local watering hole, and Baltimore is no exception.
Yet as both the Ravens defense and Ravens fans alike steeled themselves for Patrick Mahomes' ensuing offensive onslaught, the latter group had to find their courage without the help of the popular "GAME" bar located outside the stadium.
The ticket booths and gates, normally teeming with the anticipation of game day, also stood still.
RAVENS WALK, filled for every home game with live music, people, bars, and pop-up souvenir shops, leading to a parking lot flowing with tailgaters, instead reflected just how different life is at this moment in time.
As did the main plaza in front of the stadium, adorned with statues of Johnny Unitas and Ray Lewis – but absent the normal crowds.
Even the view from inside was unlike any other game. While the field started to fill with players and staff in the minutes leading up to kickoff, the stands remained vacant, save a smattering of family members of players on both teams (and some cardboard cutouts, of course).
It was a marked change from the last time Baltimore hosted Monday Night Football, in Week 12 of the 2017 season.
Yet all of that, different as it might be, is a testament to the strength and perseverance of the NFL and its teams.
Sure, the Ravens seemed as if they could have used the shot of adrenaline that comes from a home crowd backing them. But everyone involved did everything they could. Game operations played music between plays and continued in-game video montages of the players, generating the same hype you'd see with thousands of fans in attendance.
The players reached down and summoned their deepest internal fortitude, not letting the lack of cheers serve as a crutch. And while things might not have gone the Ravens' way, both sides delivered, keeping the football faithful at the edge of their collective seat, no matter where they might have been.
Indeed, the players understand better than anyone that as strange as these times are, there are still games to be played – to be won and lost.
Without fans, perhaps. But for the fans? Absolutely.